Rishi Sunak warns MPs will have to justify donations amid new revelations

Rishi Sunak has warned MPs will have to “justify” their political donations to their constituents amid the latest round of revelations.

Politicians “should be a no doubt that the public will pay close attention”, Downing Street also said.

The prime minister also warned that rules around MPs’ outside earnings had to be adhered to as the cash flowing into Westminster came under intense scrutiny.

Asked if it was right that “companies that don’t seem to exist” could donate to MPs, Mr Sunak said: “I think transparency is really important for the healthy functioning of democracy, it’s absolutely right that there’s disclosures around donations and outside interests. Transparency is a good thing. I fully support it.”

Speaking in West Yorkshire, he added: “That’s why we have a set of rules and regulations in place to provide that transparency for people. It’s important that those rules are adhered to.”

Sky News and the Tortoise news website have launched a new searchable database of MPs’ outside earnings and donations, dubbed the ‘Westminster Accounts’.

Asked about companies which appear on the register, No 10 said that “every member of parliament is required to disclose their donations and should be a no doubt that the public will pay close attention to that and they will obviously need to justify that to their constituents.”